Hepatitis E Virus seroprevalence and chronic infections in patients with HIV, Switzerland

Alain Kenfak-Foguena; Franziska Schöni-Affolter; Phillippe Bürgisser; Andrea Witteck; Katharine E A Darling; Helen Kovari; Laurent Kaiser; John-Marc Evison; Luigia Elzi; Vanina Gurter-De La Fuente; Josef Jost; Darius Moradpour; Florence Abravanel; Jacques Izpopet; Matthais Cavassini; Data Center of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, Lausanne, Switzerland

doi:10.3201/eid/1706.101067

Hepatitis E Virus seroprevalence and chronic infections in patients with HIV, Switzerland

Emerg Infect Dis. 2011 Jun;17(6):1074-8. doi: 10.3201/eid/1706.101067.

Authors

Alain Kenfak-Foguena¹, Franziska Schöni-Affolter, Phillippe Bürgisser, Andrea Witteck, Katharine E A Darling, Helen Kovari, Laurent Kaiser, John-Marc Evison, Luigia Elzi, Vanina Gurter-De La Fuente, Josef Jost, Darius Moradpour, Florence Abravanel, Jacques Izpopet, Matthais Cavassini; Data Center of the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, Lausanne, Switzerland

Affiliation

¹ Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and Lausanne University, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract

We screened 735 HIV-infected patients in Switzerland with unexplained alanine aminotransferase elevation for hepatitis E virus (HEV) immunoglobulin G. Although HEV seroprevalence in this population is low (2.6%), HEV RNA can persist in patients with low CD4 cell counts. Findings suggest chronic HEV infection should be considered as a cause of persistent alanine aminotransferase elevation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral / blood
CD4 Lymphocyte Count
Chronic Disease
Female
HIV Infections / complications*
Hepatitis E / complications*
Hepatitis E / epidemiology*
Hepatitis E / immunology
Hepatitis E / virology
Hepatitis E virus* / genetics
Hepatitis E virus* / immunology
Humans
Immunoglobulin G / blood
Male
Risk Factors
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Switzerland / epidemiology
Viral Load

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
Immunoglobulin G